If you've purchased a pair of yoga pants containing Lycra or a Stainmaster carpet, you've indirectly handed the Kochs your money: Koch Industries bought Invista, the world's largest fiber and textiles company, in 2004 from DuPont.

You didn't know that, did you? Neither did Darcy Burner, a Democrat running for Washington state's 1st Congressional District seat -- but once she learned how many household products are manufactured by the conservative billionaires' companies, she decided to take action.

"Our democracy has been bought and sold by people like the Kochs," Burner said, citing the Citizens United ruling that allows tax exempt nonprofits like Americans for Prosperity, founded by David Koch, to donate anonymously in unlimited amounts to candidates and causes. "When I'm out talking to voters, they say they want a way to take action."

At her recent Netroots Nation keynote address, Burner pitched her plan of action to an audience of progressive bloggers: a smartphone app allowing shoppers to swipe bar codes to check whether the Kochs, or other right-wing supporters, are behind a product on the shelves.

Harvard computer science grad Burner has some experience with all things tech herself: she spent years as a programmer at
Microsoft and Lotus before entering politics. Her 2012 Congressional bid will mark her third attempt to represent a swath of suburban Seattle popular with fellow techies.

She put her expertise to use designing a mock interface for the app (above, right). Now she's just waiting on the right team to build the back end.

Since her Netroots speech, she's had some phone calls from developers hoping to step in and create the app. ("I've found that if you pitch an idea in front of 2400 very smart bloggers, usually they'll make it happen," she said.)

As well as allowing a shopper to see the names of the moguls behind a product, the app will offer ratings on, for instance, the environmental record of the company in question, as well as its record on women's and workers' rights. The app will then suggest alternative brands that might better cater to the shopper's political ideology.

"We already have folks in the habit of doing price checks with their phones," Burner said. "This is an extension of that idea."

Update: As of May 2013, this app exists! Well, a version of it, anyway. Read here.